Rediscovering Fiber Preparation

 As part of the Sheepspot Guild, the October/November activity is to prepare some fiber to spin with tools and after spinning the desired yarn, to make something with the spun yarn.  I had originally thought to pull out a mystery braid of fiber and experiment with color and started thinking about that project and then after seeing some of the posts of the others in the guild, I decided to buy some Good Clean Fiber from Clemes and Clemes and pull out my drum carder to spin some yarn to knit the Hamilton Hat.

The red/purple braid was split half and one half was split up into 2 piles of red and purple and the other half was just split down the middle lengthwise.  I used the blending board and it was not that successful but I got 2 rollags off the board with some nicks in my hands.  I spun the red rollag on the first bobbin of my Sparrow.  I then spun the 2 lengthwise strips on 2 other bobbins.  The final rollag of purple was just messy so I decided to put it through the drum carder once and got a great batt which was so easily spun on the 4th bobbin.  I will think about how to ply the bobbins later.

The Good Clean Fiber consisted of 2 colors and 2 different fleeces - Black in Merino x Lincoln x Cormo x Wensleydale #22315 (4 ounces) and White in BFL x Clun Forest x Texel #21137 (4 ounces). The black is much softer and the white more substantial but fluffier.  I used my fingers to open up all the locks and then ran it through the drum carder (I have an electric Duncan carder) twice getting rid of some of the neps. The black had more dirt while carding.  I ended up with 4 - 1 ounce bundles/batts.  I subscribed to Long Thread and received access to the videos and watched a drum carder one to refamiliarize myself with the drum carder.  I also had to reach out to Duncan Fibers in Oregon to order a new drive band as mine had hardened and had a kink so the licker didn’t turn with the drum without getting stuck in the same place.

The fiber is ready to be spun which also corresponds with Spin School month 2 which is all about spinning.

Restart - A New Era in Life

It is almost the end of 2023 and it has been so long since I’ve posted on this blog.  A lot has happened in the world and also in life.  The COVID pandemic changed a lot of us in ways that we may never really comprehend or acknowledge.  So I’m taking this blog up again as a way to get out from under all the negative energy that has taken up so much of the last few years.

I took a long break from crafting as I couldn’t seem to get projects worked through and spent a lot of time just vegging out with books or with TV.  One positive thing is that my Chinese has improved from watching a ton of Mandarin soap operas - some good but mostly so so.

The last few years on the job were also very draining with tons of personnel changes and difficult management.  I finally got my years in and retired after almost 33 years in Federal service.  I was like a zombie for a couple of months.

I then took a trip to Santa Fe for the IFAM festival which was held at a new location within walking distance of where I stayed.  It was so hot, but the craftspeople were awesome and my expandable suitcase was expanded all the way for the trip home.

After that was a land and sea cruise with Princess to Alaska.  I have cruised Alaska quite a few times, but this was the first time I did the land portion and it was really impressive.  

Weather was cooperative and lots of salmon and crab to feast on.

Helicopter to Mendenhall glacier was spectacular and I even tasted the glacier water.

Wildlife was scarce but I was able to capture a bald eagle swooping for fish.

The downside was that I got sick at the end of the cruise so was limping along when we arrived in Vancouver.  I stayed another week in Vancouver recovering and went out to explore a bit before flying home.  Overall, it was a great vacation and nice to be in cooler weather escaping the heat of the Southwest.

I pulled out some of my old projects and did some weaving.  I also signed up for Spin School with Sasha up in Canada with her Sheepspot and joined the guild.  For the first month of October, it was wheel mechanics and I gave my wheels a spa day and cleaned and oiled them up.  I also pulled out some of my knitting WIPs and finished a pair of socks and a cowl.

And lastly I went to see Pink in concert.  She is totally awesome and gave such a great and energetic show.

That is all for now as I’m sort of caught up.  Not sure how often I will be posting but I plan to keep up on my crafting and figuring out this retired life.